Proposed District Plan Hearings 2017

Timetable for adoption of the Proposed District Plan (PDP)

Following completion of the Proposed District Plan hearings (final closing on 5 April 2017 - postponed from 29 March) where the report writers provide information to the Hearings Panel who will then conclude their deliberations) the following process has to be undertaken:

Hearings Panel releases its recommendations on the PDP to the Council (anticipated by October 2017);

Council decides whether to accept the Panel’s recommendations – Council has until 29 November 2017 to publicly notify its decision on provisions and matters raised in submissions – refer

Following public notification of the decision there is a 30 working day period in which submitters can lodge appeals to the Environment Court;

Should there be no appeals, then the plan can be made operative by Council; however, if there are appeals, the plan won’t be able to be made operative until the end of the appeals process.

The Background

On 10 December 2015 Council endorsed moving the Proposed Kāpiti District Plan (PDP) to formal hearings in 2016. The hearings have been held under a panel consisting of five members, comprised of three independent commissioners and two Council* commissioners who conducted the hearings in accordance with procedures set out in the Resource Management Act 1991. *Commissioner Ammundsen stepped down from her Councillor role at the last local election in November 2016.

Full hearings began in April 2016 and the Hearings Panel convened a one-day meeting on 17 February 2016 to advise submitters or their representatives about the proposed hearing process.

Hearings Panel minutes and correspondence

During the course of the hearings, the Panel Chair has issued minutes at various times to inform submitters about the conduct of the hearings. Also during the course of the hearings, parties to any hearing were able to provide memoranda and correspondence to the panel. Copies of minutes, memoranda and other documents can be found here.

A conflict of interest matter was raised at the Procedural Meeting on 17 February 2016. The Chair of the Hearings Panel for the Proposed Kapiti Coast District Plan, Alistair Aburn, issued a preliminary and a final decision, which can be found here with other minutes of the Hearings Panel. Subsequently, the objection to Mr Aburn hearing and considering submissions in respect of the airport zone was withdrawn in a memorandum found here. Mr Aburn continued as Chair of the Hearings Panel, to hear and consider submissions on the entire Proposed Kapiti Coast District Plan.

PDP Updates

In addition to the Hearings Panel minutes, two newsletters were released, the 'PDP Update', which provided laypeople summaries of progress at the hearings. Copies can be found here.

Coastal Ratepayers United Environment Court Declaration Application

An application for declarations was filed in the Environment Court by Coastal Ratepayers United (case number ENV-2016-WLG-000028).The application (here )sought two declarations relating to the withdrawal of provisions from the Proposed District Plan in 2014.If you would like further information in relation to Environment Court proceedings you can refer to the Environment Court's website:http://www.environmentcourt.govt.nz/